


Through Glass

by Reyn



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: M/M, One-Sided Attraction, becomes two-sided attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 09:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10085492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reyn/pseuds/Reyn
Summary: Quickly reviewing what he had been said during their angry banter, Tim slowly repeated his last sentence.“You mean your big fat crush on Dick that everyone knows about?”Damian didn’t sway, but he did fall against the brick wall without his usual put-out grace. “Everyone knows?”Tim’s eyes widened. That…was practically a confession. He was fairly certain a couple people within the superhero community actually had money weighing on this.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Despite how long it took me to write this, I loved every second of it. I love writing fics with all the brothers together as a background to the romance (or vice versa). 
> 
> Title taken from the song by Stone Sour.

Tim wasn’t aware Damian could go so alarmingly pale. This even surpassed that time he had caught pneumonia when he was fifteen, which evoked some very much unwanted concern on Tim’s part.

“Uh, are you—”

Damian’s coarsely demanded “What?” cut him off.

Frowning at being so rudely interrupted, Tim didn’t even get a chance to repeat himself before Damian was continuing.

“What did you say?”

The question was faint, which worryingly matched Damian’s expression. Quickly reviewing what he had been said during their angry banter, Tim slowly repeated his last sentence.

“You mean your big fat crush on Dick that everyone knows about?”

Damian didn’t sway, but he did fall against the brick wall without his usual put-out grace. “Everyone knows?”

Tim’s eyes widened. That…was practically a confession. He was fairly certain a couple people within the superhero community actually had money weighing on this. The amusement of it all was severely dimmed by the wrinkle in Damian’s brow and slight tremble in his fingers.

“Well…I wouldn’t go as far as to say _everyone_ , but it’s not exactly a well-kept secret.”

The punched-out sound Damian made bordered on a whimper. “Does…do you think Dick knows?”

Tim blinked. Dick was a detective with amazing powers of observation who had pretty much grown up surrounded by and utilizing people who succumbed to his charm. If Dick _didn’t_ know, it was simply because he hadn’t consciously acknowledged the fact yet.

Rather than make a guess in either direction, Tim settled with, “I wouldn’t worry too much about it even if he did. After all, I’m sure you’re just suffering from hormones like every other teenager in existence.”

The whites of Damian’s domino mask did little to lessen the intensity of his glare. “Did _you_ ever have a crush on him?”

Tim, in fact, did not. And his awkward body language more than answered the question for him.

Civilian laughter floated down from the mouth of the alley, causing the silence between them to feel almost oppressive. To the point where Tim was wondering if maybe he should make a vow to go back to ignoring Damian’s insults rather than insulting him right back.

“Look,” Damian said as he regathered himself and stepped forward. “I’d rather this stayed quiet, if only for dignity’s sake. I _don’t_ want Dick to know, and I want you to swear to me on your honor that you’ll keep your mouth shut.”

Tim’s mouth opened to agree but after a moment’s hesitation, what came out instead was, “Dick would be fine with knowing. Not that I plan on telling him!!” he hastily added at Damian’s incredulous stare. “Just…he’s a cool guy. He wouldn’t let it bother him or get in between you two…” he trailed off as he realized his words were only further offending someone who regularly killed as a child. “I swear I won’t tell,” he finished lamely.

“The last thing I want,” Damian forced out through clenched teeth, “is my emotions being purposely ignored, or being ‘gently’ let down with an excuse similar to yours that this is just hormones.”

And with that he retrieved his grappling gun and escaped to the nearest building’s roof, leaving Tim blinking at the space he had occupied.

If _that_ wasn't the overreaction of the century...

With Damian being as analytical as he was, it was a bit of a surprise that he _wasn’t_ dismissing his feelings as hormones. Which meant…oh. _Oh_.

Well…shit.

+

In a rare show of singular loyalty, Tim kept quiet.

Not that it was hard with the way Damian was now avoiding him. As if he thought he could belatedly hide from Tim’s powers of observation. Which was stupid. Nothing could hide from Tim’s powers of observation.

But Tim left it alone, regardless. Damian clearly had issues dealing with a positive emotion and it was in his best interests to not touch that with a ten-foot pole.

At least, that was Tim’s plan up until he noticed he wasn’t the only one now being avoided.

“Have you guys seen Damian?”

Bruce glanced up only because he was reaching for another tool from the kit. “He’s doing homework.”

Nightwing frowned and crossed his arms. “Things might be getting hairy for me tonight. He’s supposed to be my back up.”

“Then have Tim suit up,” Bruce suggested, returning his attention to the batmobile’s engine.

Normally, Tim would have jumped at the chance. Today, he merely froze mid-chew and slowly put his sandwich aside on the plate balancing atop the tool drawers.

“Or I could go see if he’s done for the night?” he thickly suggested, brushing his crumb-stained fingers off on his shirt.

“Would you?” Nightwing asked, rubbing at his forehead with the pads of his fingers. He turned back to Bruce. “I thought the new agreement was to not pile him down with homework on nights he had prescheduled meetings without checking with the rest of us first.”

It wasn’t a question, it was an accusation, causing Tim to quicken his footsteps. It wasn’t often that Dick entered the batcave in a bullheaded mood, but when he did, things usually ended in a screaming match.

Bruce’s reply was too soft to catch, but Dick’s was clear and sassy.

“Oh yeah? Then explain to me why this is adding up to be the fourth time he’s had to bail on night duty with me for homework?”

“You’re hardly the only one.” Crap, if he could hear Bruce at this distance, that meant Bruce was giving their conversation his full attention. “He was late to practice today and ended it early telling _me_ he had homework to finish.”

The elevator doors closed just as Bruce’s voice rose on the last note, and Tim slumped against the sanctity of the stainless-steel walls. So Damian was avoiding the rest of the family as well.

Dick made sense. If Damian was worried about his feelings being too obvious, then yeah, avoiding the object of your affections to help tone it down was logical enough. But why Bruce? Unless whatever reasons he had for Bruce were unrelated and merely coincidental? Was he avoiding Alfred as well?

The elevator dinged open and Tim pulled out his phone as he entered the house. After having roomed with several teenage males in the past, he knew better than to show up unannounced if the person in question wasn’t expecting any company for more than half an hour.

His text was simple and to the point. “I’m coming up.”

It occurred to him as he hit send that it would have been smarter to call Damian down, insisting that both his father _and_ Dick were now asking for him.

But then again, Tim didn’t want to subject him to one of their domestic arguments and risk them both getting caught in the middle.

Damian's room was right next to the stairs, and Tim decided if his knock wasn't responded to in the next five seconds, he was going to assume the teen bailed on him and just lie to Bruce.

“Enter” was spoken on four Mississippi.

Tim said nothing as he obeyed the command, finding Damian under the bright lights by his window, with his easel hiding most of his bulk.

“Speak.”

“Woof,” Tim muttered, walking further into the room. He was echoed by Titus, whose thin tail thumped once on the bed. “You need to suit up. Dick’s waiting for you downstairs.”

The scratch of charcoal against newsprint didn’t slow. “I’m busy.”

“As invested in your art _homework_ as you are, this will have to wait. Dick needs you.”

Damian snorted. “He doesn’t need _me_ , he needs backup.” He glanced up, but didn’t go as far as to offer the position to Tim the way Bruce had.

Tim wanted to argue that the two were one in the same, but found himself offended by the notion since _he_ could technically be backup, too. So instead, he dropped his head back and lamented over how angsty teenagers could be, never mind the fact that he himself was one as well just a few short years ago.

“He complained to Bruce.”

“So?”

“So why are you avoiding Bruce?” Tim asked, crossing his arms.

Damian dropped his charcoal in a nearby tray and picked up a longer piece. “None of your business.”

Tim decided to voice the assumption he had reached while in the elevator. “Is it because you’re worried he’s going to reach the same conclusions I have and try to forcibly separate you two?”

The charcoal snapped in Damian’s hand. “I _said_ it’s none of your business.”

“Because you know that won’t happen, right?” Tim continued. “I mean, even if he did try, you’re legally an adult and you’ve pretty much been proving to him since the day you arrived that you’ll do whatever you want regardless.”

“If I agree to go, will you stop talking and get out?”

Tim blinked, not expecting such an offer. Usually it was Dick who was able to talk others into compliance. Did that mean his guess was right? Or was it off and Damian just didn’t want him to stick around to embarrass him with more deductions?

“If I say yes, will you actually go?” he asked back.

Damian glared. “Tell him I’ll be there in an hour.”

Tim wasn’t sure how time sensitive the mission was, so he made it a point to offer his temporary services as both men narrowed their eyes at the delivered message.

“Sure,” Dick said with a bracing sigh, keeping whatever other opinions he had about that to himself. “Can you be ready in fifteen?”

Tim was ready in ten and their competitive streak had their bike race getting them to the designated location with twenty-four minutes to spare in Damian’s hour limit.

The plan was simple enough. Nightwing needed to sneak into a boss’ office at a location where he had been doing some undercover work. Problem was, the armed guards on the roof tended to take turns making rounds inside the building.

“Crikey McCrikerson is out. Looks like Big N’ Baldy is going in next.”

In Tim’s earpiece, Dick huffed out a laugh. “ _Why do your nicknames for everyone sound like they came off a McDonald’s bad guy menu?_ ”

Considering Dick’s mood at being denied his usual partner, Tim had made it a point to keep things as lighthearted as possible.

“Probably because that’s where you can order them from. Two of these guys look like they’re straight off the dollar menu.”

Thankfully, this method of dealing with things also stopped Dick from asking any potentially awkward questions.

“Detective.”

Never before had Tim heard the honorary title said with such derision. He turned and found himself staring at a disturbing close-up of Damian’s nose. No bats in that cave, thank God.

He turned off the zoom feature on his mask. “You made it.”

Staying low, Robin mimicked Tim’s position by crawling out onto his belly. “What’s the status report?” he asked, pulling out his binoculars.

“Nightwing’s doing recon. Your job is to alert him every time a baddie enters the building and give them appropriate nicknames.”

“ _Hey, is that Robin? Do me a favor and ask him if McSocket is the same guy I was telling you about from that one time_.”

Before Tim could simply suggest telling Damian which channel they were on, the teen let out a thoughtful hum.

“What?” Tim was quick to zoom back in, worried he had missed something important.

“I’m pretty sure I broke Static Whammy’s pinky three weeks ago.”

An unexplainable surge of jealousy shot through Tim.

“ _What is it?_ ” Dick asked worriedly when Tim had been silent for too long. “ _Are we still okay out there?_ ”

“Yeah, sorry. Robin just confirmed your suspicion. We’re on channel six,” he said to Damian.

“ _Ha! I knew it! Hey, Big Bird, wait until you see the one with the rattail turn around. That guy is just begging for an accidental haircut._ ”

A smirk appeared on Damian’s lips. “That can be arranged.”

Suddenly feeling very much like a third wheel, Tim decided he couldn’t get out of there fast enough. It was as if the protectiveness he had been exuding over Damian was being thrown back in his face as being both unneeded and unwanted.

Whatever tension he had been expecting to linger once Damian arrived was nonexistent as the two bantered, Tim’s presence all but forgotten.

He knew his farewell was decidedly cold, but Tim didn’t care. He had already closed out of the channel and was rappelling down to his bike to retreat to another part of the city. Hopefully a bit of patrolling would help him forget the reminder of what it had felt like back when Damian first entered his and Dick’s life.

+

Tim had been laying in the dark long enough that the overhead track lights were nearly blinding when flicked on.

“What are you doing here?” Jason asked from just inside the doorway. His mask was dangling from his hand and he looked about as exhausted as Tim emotionally felt.

“I just…needed to get away for a bit,” Tim admitted.

Jason snorted as he kicked the door shut behind him and tossed his duffle bag towards the wall. “You could have just gone to your superbae’s instead.”

“I thought about it,” Tim muttered, refusing to rise to the bait of the argument they often had these days.

“Clearly didn't think hard enough about it.” The red helmet was set on the kitchen counter and was soon followed by a leather jacket and a small cache of hidden weapons. “What's on your mind?” Jason eventually asked.

Tim dragged himself up to a sitting position on the couch. “Do you know…” he hesitated.

If Jason didn't know, he would be further outing Damian, which he had expressed was the last thing that he wanted. But then again, if Jason did know…

“Know what?”

He could be a useful ally within the family to help Tim with his own mental struggles.

“About Damian…and Dick?”

Tim watched as Jason’s eyes flicked over to him before focusing back on his task of unloading his guns.

“What about them? Did one of them sacrifice themselves to save the other again?”

“No…”

“Good. Because I would have been pissed if you came here to ask for my help to knock some sense into one of them.” When Tim didn't say anything, Jason looked up at him again. “The kid being an overbearing little shit when it comes to Dick again?”

The guess brought a ghost of a smile to Tim’s face. It was common knowledge that Tim had once been victim to some harsh bullying whenever Damian felt threatened by the older Robin. Damian’s coping tactics back then were both ruthless and nasty.  

“You can't exactly call him a kid anymore,” Tim pointed out. “He's taller than me now.”

“Everyone's taller than you,” Jason dismissed. “So what's bothering you about them?”

Tim’s shoulders slumped. Jason didn't know.

“You feeling threatened by the not-kid’s not-hero worship of his old mentor?”

“His not what?” Tim’s face scrunched in distaste. “Just how tired _are_ you.”

“Sorry.” Jason didn't sound the least bit apologetic as he swept his ammo into a kitchen drawer. “I've been hanging around Bizarro. And I'm damn exhausted. Get out of my condo and go cry to Conner about your problems.”

Tim didn't move as his brain finally translated the double negative sentence. Wait. _Did_ Jason know…? He swung his legs around to the floor and stood to follow Jason into his bedroom.

He caught sight of Jason's bare back as the man threw his shirt at his hamper before heading into the connected bathroom.

The “Go away” was punctuated by the door clicking shut.

“Come on, this is seri—” Tim found himself cut off by the sound of Jason urinating.

With a frustrated sigh, he threw himself on the bed. In theory, if he stayed here and took up as much space as possible, Jason wouldn’t be able to lie down and ignore him and possibly fall asleep. Tim rolled over onto his back, making it a point of musing the covers as he did so. Jason hated that.

Tucking his arms behind his head, Tim missed the sound of the bathroom door opening, but caught Jason’s sharp intake of breath.

As he looked to the side, Tim had to fight the urge to bring his arms back down and move into a less vulnerable position. Jason’s gaze was dangerous.

Instead, he jutted out his jaw and made it a point to get comfortable.

Jason’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t think I won’t crawl in there with you.”

“You really want to crawl into bed with an insomniac?” Tim didn’t give him a chance to answer. “I need you to tell me what you know about Damian concerning Dick.”

Jason crossed his arms. “Why?”

Tim rolled his eyes at his defensive tone. “Because I need confirmation.”

Jason refused to be moved. “Again, why?”

This time, Tim’s answer was slow in coming. “Because…because I need to know I have someone I can turn to for this.”

Jason’s gaze softened and he pushed himself off the bathroom door frame and padded into the room.

+

The double buzz of an incoming text message slowed Dick’s retelling of a humorous anecdote from his cop days. Tim couldn’t see who it was from, but figured it was from someone important thanks to the way Dick’s finger went up and he paused the story with a “hang on.”

But before he could unlock the screen to respond, his phone started ringing.

“Someone’s popular on his one day off,” Tim muttered, dropping his chin to his fist as he poked at the ice in his drink.

The whole purpose of them meeting up for lunch was supposed to be so that Tim could bask in Dick’s undivided attention for a few hours and not feel like he had to compete against—

“Hey, Carrie, what’s up?”

Correction, he still had to compete for attention. But the point of them getting together was to make up for Tim feeling like an outsider last week.

“That’s great! How long are you in town for?”

To be honest, Tim was surprised Dick had even picked up on that despite his hasty retreat.

“Tonight?” Dick’s genial smile fell. “Sorry, I’ve already got plans for dinner and a movie.”

Tim cocked a brow. _He_ certainly had heard of no such plans. Which meant Dick had purposely withheld telling him about it. The brow fell into a flat glare. Probably because it had to do with Damian.

Fantastic. Dick now considered the brat to be a sore subject between them.

As Dick ended his call and went to check his messages, Tim snacked on a few fries and wondered how to broach the topic that he had nothing against Damian.

“Oh.” Dick frowned at his phone. “Damian canceled on me for tonight.”

“He’s still avoiding you?” As soon as the words left his lips, Tim froze, unable to believe he had just blurted out such a question.

Luckily, Dick missed the faux pas as he tucked away his phone.

“It’s not just me, it’s everyone!” he complained. “I mean, I get that he goes through his heavy moods, but I wish he wouldn’t push me away when he did.”

Tim did his best to keep his face neutral as he sent a judging glance towards Dick. Usually, when Damian went through his moods, Dick was the _one_ person he turned to.

"I wish I knew _why_ he was avoiding me…”

Score one for the guilt category.

Batting the feeling aside, Tim took a large gulp of soda. “Look on the bright side,” he suggested. “Now you can call Carrie back and meet up with her.”

Dick pondered over the idea for a moment before shaking his head and stealing a few of Tim’s fries. “Nah. It’d be weird to call her back less than a minute after turning her down.”

Tim opened his mouth to offer another suggestion but found himself hesitating as he took in Dick’s now reserved mood. The usual quiet happiness that shone from his eyes had dimmed greatly.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stop Tim’s words from stumbling passed his tongue.

“I…could go see the movie? With you?” The question sounded almost pained with how much it wavered, causing Tim to wince in embarrassment.

Dick’s head tilted back in laughter. “Wow, Timmy, don’t put yourself out on my account.”

“I’m serious!” Tim insisted, frowning when Dick only laughed harder. “It seemed like you were looking forward to it! I wouldn’t mind!” _Being his replacement_ , he barely bit back.

Dick’s smile turned more melancholic and Tim already knew he was about to be turned down.

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, we were going to the same movie you agreed to see with Conner, and I wouldn’t want to intrude on that.”

Tim pulled a face. “How would that be intruding?” What he and Conner had planned was a date. This would just be a bit of brotherly bonding.

Dick took his time in answering as he pulled a long sip from his iced water. “Some people don’t like it when their friends go and see movies without them.”

The truth was there, but the sincerity wasn’t. Tim was missing something. Something big. Correction: something big to Dick. Something…

“Oh my God,” he breathed. “You know about Damian’s feelings.”

Dick’s eyes went wide and the fries he was about to eat remained hovering in front of his mouth.

“And he’s avoiding you because he’s convinced that if you find out, you’ll either ignore his feelings or dismiss them. But that’s not true, is it? You’ve actually accepted them.”

Dick remained silent as he slowly lowered his fries back to the table.

Tim’s head slowly shook in disbelief. “Dick, you have to tell him. Why haven’t you told him?”

The sigh that escaped Dick’s chest was explosive. “C’mon, Tim, this is Bruce’s kid we’re talking about. The man won’t keep anyone he loves close, and actively pushes away those who love him back.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair. “I don’t know what I did to give myself away, but I honestly can’t think of any other reason as to why he’s suddenly keeping me at arm’s length.”

Tapping his finger against the table in thought, Tim remembered the overreaction he had encountered when Damian’s secret had been revealed. “You know, he might be Bruce’s son, but he was Talia’s child first.”

They both remained silent for a moment as the statement sank in.

“I get that, but…” Dick trailed off, deciding to try a different angle. “I don’t know what he wants from me. I’ve tried taking him out on more…intimate outings, and he seemed fine with that until all of the sudden we’re all going cold turkey and I have no idea what line I crossed with him.”

Tim stared incredulously at his big brother. “Dick, what line? You don’t have lines.”

Dick’s answering frown was full of both offence and confusion. “Sure I do!”

Brows raised in skepticism, Tim scratched at his nose before gesturing at their remaining mess of a meal. “ _This_ is a date.” He put a palm up before Dick could protest. “You picked me up, you plan on paying for the meal, and you probably plan on offering up a walk in the park across the street just to help prolong our time together. Especially since you now have nowhere to be later today.”

Dick’s awkward grin was definitely one of self-defense. “Yeah, but—”

“ _And_ it took you _months_ to stop kissing me on the temple when we parted ways.”

The smile fell into a pout.

Brushing his bangs back, Tim thought carefully over his words. “It’s not that it’s a bad thing. You’re just very free with your love, which makes whatever lines you have difficult for others to see. And it’s just how you are with the ones you care about. I get that. But the problem is most people don’t, which is why everyone feels so special when you’re with them. And that’s why it feels like a really bad wake-up call when there _is_ someone you’ve decided to devote yourself to.” His eyes widened at the realization. “Because now there’s a very clear line around you and that person that makes the rest of us feel like outsiders.”

The nearly empty basket of fries was suddenly fascinating to look at. Tim couldn’t believe he lived through Dick’s countless affairs only to have a problem with this one. And it hadn’t even breached any type of relationship status yet.

Did he really have that much of an issue with Damian still?

The fries were pulled to the side, startling Tim into looking back up at Dick’s concerned gaze.

Clearing his throat, Tim tried to force the conversation back to its original topic. “So, basically, Damian probably has no idea that you’re trying to urge him in the direction he actually wants.”

“Timmy…” Dick leaned forward on his elbows. “I know we had this talk years ago about Damian not replacing you.”

Tim’s worry melted into ire. “We’re not a couple, Dick. I know there’s nothing here for him to replace.”

“But the points of that talk still stand,” Dick stressed, continuing on. “You’re still my brother, and you’ve still got a special place with me that won’t ever go away. Just like I know nothing will shake my standing with you, even if you start spending more time with closer members of the family.”

Tim briefly wondered what _that_ was supposed to mean, but brushed aside the thought before he could start to overanalyze it.

“I guess it’s good to hear the reminder every once in a while,” he admitted. “Bro dates notwithstanding.”

Dick’s smile was contagious. “So you’re good? We’re good?”

Tim nodded. “Yeah.” The decision to man up after that was an easy one. “Do you still want to talk about Damian?”

The smile slipped away. “Nah. We can focus on us for now.”

As much as Tim would have loved for them to move on, he knew now this was a problem he needed to help fix. Considering how much it bothered him as a third party member, he could only imagine how badly Dick was crawling up the walls.

“As your favorite brother, I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that. Wasn’t it you who told me the whole point of family was so that you had someone to turn to with your problems?”

“Jesus, Tim.” Dick leaned away. “I’m not going to sit here and go on and on about him knowing how much you dislike him.”

“I don’t—” Tim wasn’t sure how to best finish that statement. “He’s not my favorite person, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say I dislike him! We get along! Kind of. Sometimes.”

Dick was laughing at him.

“We get along well enough for me to know why he’s avoiding you.”

The laughter, at least, stopped. But the amusement was still there as Dick rested his head against his fist.

“Oh yeah? And why’s that?”

Dick’s carefree smirk fell away at Tim’s next words.

“Because I told him everyone knows about how he feels about you.”

+

“Zombie brother.”

The new nickname gave Jason pause. “Do you keep a list somewhere? Because there's no way you come up with all these names on the spot.”

Damian snorted, his gaze remaining focused through his binoculars. “I think of them from the time I recognize your heavy presence to the moment you decide to make yourself known. What do you want?”

Jason shrugged. “Word on the superhero circuit is your birthday is coming up. You’ll officially be an adult.”

“I’ve legally been an adult for nearly two years now.”

“Yeah, well…you’re still a teenager. Nine _teen_. See?”

The binoculars dropped and Jason knew the kid was rolling his eyes. “What do you _want_ , Hood?”

Jason strode closer. “Figured I would offer myself up as someone you could turn to for adult advice. For…adult things.”

“What.” Damian’s stare was piercing, even through his mask.

"You know..." Jason shrugged his shoulders. "Drugs, sex, and rock and roll.”

“Tt.” The binoculars were raised once more and Damian’s attention went back to his previous task. “I bet that’s what got you killed in the first place.”

Jason’s trigger finger twitched. Twice. “Hey, you died, too!”

“ _I_ was killed because there was a bounty on my head. _You_ were killed because you were an idiot.”

The clarity did little to help his charitable mood. “Look, do you want an ally or not?”

“What for?” Damian feigned disinterest.

Probably feigned.

“Rumor has it says you’ve been avoiding the family lately.”

“If you’re trying to recruit me into allying myself with Black Mask, the answer is no.”

Jason opened his mouth to deny it, but paused. He actually hadn’t thought of that, but what he was imagining now wasn’t something that would go down nicely.

“No,” he finally said, mentally shaking himself out of his blood-soaked thoughts. “No, I’m actually offering myself to you.”

When Damian turned to towards him this time, his face was filled with confused disgust.

“As someone to turn to!” Jason quickly elaborated.

Damian's look didn't change. “For intercourse, drugs, and music?”

“Fucking…” Jason gritted his teeth. “Christ on a cracker,” he muttered. “I meant if you ever needed someone to talk to about shit, I'll be there, alright?!”

Damian’s eyes narrowed in suspicion and for a brief moment, Jason was so sure the brat was going to either question or put down his motives.

Instead, he got a “Thanks,” that threw Jason for such a loop that he stood there for several seconds, unsure of what to do next.

“Uh…yeah. Anytime.” His hands hung uselessly by his side. “Sooo…is there anything you needed to get off your chest at the moment?”

When Damian failed to answer, Jason stepped forward, joining the teen on the edge of the roof that overlooked the wharf.

“I know I’m probably not the best person to turn to for practical advice, but I _have_ lived a bit a life and gained _some_ wisdom thanks to dying,” Jason offered as he put a leg up on the lip of the roof. “I also know some of the best life hacks if any of your gadgets ever fail you."

The corner of Damian’s lips pulled down. “Does that explain the time I found lipstick stains smudged all over your doorframe?”  
  
“Er…no, actually.”

Damian reached out and gave him a light shove that came close to knocking him off balance.

“You’re strange.”

“Compared to what?” Jason challenged.

Damian hummed in acquiescence.

Silence descended over them long enough for Jason to contemplate just making his exit. He had made his offer and the kid knew where to find him.

“Have you ever—?”

Jason’s helmet pinged.

Holding up a hand towards Damian, he took the call.

“What?”

“ _Hey,_ a _re you busy right now?_ ” Tim asked, wasting no time on pleasantries.

Jason looked over at Damian in debate.

He’d drop everything for Tim; anytime, anywhere. But it was so rare for Damian to admit to needing someone that between the two, Jason knew he would answer the youngest’s plea in a heartbeat.

“…Kind of.”

Maybe three or four heartbeats. Depending on the size of his heart that day.

Tim let out a sigh. “ _If nothing is in imminent danger, could you drop it for now? We’re trying put out a net to find Robin._ ”

Jason’s eyebrows rose. He’d suspect Damian of being up to something dangerous and stupid upon hearing such a thing, but that hardly seemed the case. Unless he stole those binoculars?

“What do you need him for?” At this, Damian seemed to catch on that he was being talked about and turned.

“ _What do you mean what do we need – do you know where he is?_ ”

Jason rubbed at a spot of dirt on the leg propped up. “I might.” He caught Damian’s narrowed eyed look. “…Or I might not.”

“ _Jason!_ ”

“What?!”

“ _Would it kill you to be at least a little helpful here?_ ”

"I _am_ helping!"

“ _How is that…Are you with him? Right now??_ ”

“Maybe.”

“ _Noooo,_ ” Tim drew out in horror, causing Jason to wince. “ _Nonono you’re WITH him?? Why?_ ”

“I’m helping!”

“ _Well, stop it!_ ”

“What? Why? You broke into my house to _ask_ for my help!” Jason’s hand darted out to grab Damian by his cape as he started to leave.

" _Oh God...what have you told him?_ ”

“Nothing!”

" _So where is he? Where are you?_ "

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but if I told you that, wouldn’t it be ‘helping’?”

" _Never mind. I’ve got his tracker on GP—_ ” The call was ended as Tim turned his attention to whomever he was with.

“Shit.”

The stubborn set of Damian’s jaw and furrowed brow spoke of betrayal.

Double shit.

“For the record, my offer was an honest one.” Jason did a quick reflection of his words. “Is. Is an honest—”

Damian's response to that was to drop a grappling hook against the lip of the roof and jump.

+

By the time they got to Jason, Damian was gone.

Tim _knew_ he would be, and Jason’s reassurance that he put a tracker on him was a moot point once he found out Damian wasn’t in any sort of trouble.

“Just let him have his space, alright?”

Dick stepped up at that point, and laid his feelings bare for Jason to judge.

Thanks to his helmet, Jason seemed unmoved, and Dick went on to explain why Damian probably wouldn’t be taking the initiative to come to him anytime soon (“Wow, Timmy, you really can’t keep your mouth shut about this, can you?”) so waiting him out this time really wasn’t in their best interest.

With an unseen roll of his eyes, Jason pulled out his tablet and opened the tracking app for everyone to see.

Together, they headed off to Midtown Gotham City.

Damian’s trail was so erratic that all three of them were convinced the tracker had been found and they were following a stray cat. Which they continued to follow because now they had to find and retrieve the damn thing.

But then they came across a few thugs strung up and hanging from a light post.

“Well…at least we know it’s not on a cat.”

“Do you think he even called this in? How long have you guys been hanging here for?”

The thugs exchanged a glance. “Ten minutes?” one of them guessed.

Tim sighed. “I’ll call it in again, just in case.”

The chase continued on, with the occasional marker of stopped crime, until the sky began to lighten with the approach of dawn. They finally caught up with him along the bank of the East River, where he seemed to be content with watching the sunrise.

“Is this supposed to be some kind of intervention?”

Both Tim and Jason looked to Dick to answer.

“No.”

Damian’s form stiffened at the sound of his voice but slumped soon after as he rose to his feet and turned to face his brothers. He lingered on each of their faces as his gaze trailed over all of them, giving them the distinct feeling of Us vs. Him.

Dick was quick to cross that invisible line as he stepped forward, not stopping until he was a few feet away from Damian.

Damian shuffled a single step back. “I suppose you’ve been told.”

“I’ve heard what I’m sure is a grossly inaccurate version of events,” Dick joked with a tilt of his head.

“Which part? The part where I have feelings for you, or the part where everyone knows? Tim isn’t exactly known for being a liar.” Damian frowned. “Although I am questioning his honor at this point in time.”

“The part where everyone knows.” Dick’s hands came up to his chest.  “ _I_ certainly didn’t know that ev—”

“And it was supposed to stay that way.”

The interruption threw Dick for a loop. “Why?”

“Because you don’t feel the same. Because I didn’t want to deal with your reaction. Because I was handling it just fine. Because I don’t want to have to defend my emotions against you.” The fingers used to tick off each point remained in between them like a barbed weapon. “Take your pick. I understand this whole situation can be viewed as a weakness; a distraction. But you will either have to forgive me or…” Damian visibly pulled himself together, “…or reject me, because I don’t want to let this go.”

“Why not?” Dick’s gaze darted between Damian’s hand and his face.

“Because of how it makes me feel.” The gloved hand dropped.

“And how is that?”

“…Like I could take on Superman.” Damian looked askance, visibly gathering his courage before meeting Dick’s eyes once more.

From his position in the sidelines, Tim mentally snorted. That hardly counted as a weighted emotional confession. Damian was the type ready to take on Superman any day. Hell, he drove Jon into a fight nearly twice a month.

“Jesus Christ. Really, Tim?”

Looking over, he saw that not only was Jason staring at him, but so were Dick and Damian.

“And _win_ ,” Damian stressed with a glare.

Shrinking back at the knowledge that he had spoken all of that out loud, Tim offered up a sheepish apology and tried to find something else to hold his immediate attention.

“Dick, I l—”

The rest of Damian’s confession was cut off as Dick grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him into a hug.

“Me too, Damian,” Dick whispered into his ear, causing his stiff form to melt into the embrace. “ _God_ , me too.”

+

Tim was happy for them.

Really. He was.

Okay, so he might have also been a little bit jealous.

While things were now “official” between Dick and Damian, they never announced anything as official, choosing instead to keep their relationship private. Despite how obvious they were about it.

It made Tim realize what he was missing. Yes, he and Conner went on the occasional date, but due to their distance, they never bothered to try for anything more.

“Hey.”

Tim turned, and then stared uncomprehendingly at the sight before him.

“You’re at a Wayne Gala,” Tim stated dumbly.

Jason cocked a brow. “Obviously.”

“In a tuxedo,” Tim clarified.

“I’m incognito.”

“I haven’t seen or heard from you in a month. Where have you been?”

“Out of town,” Jason said with a shrug. “Have they been this disgusting the entire time?”

Halfway across the room, Damian had his hand on Dick’s lower back as the pair of them flirted with an entire female audience.

It _was_ disgusting, but Tim wasn’t going to lie about the tug it still gave him in his gut.

“It doesn’t look so bad.”  _He_ certainly wouldn't mind casual touches when out of costume and in front of friends.

Jason’s hand slipped out of his pocket and around Tim’s waist. “Really? Have they hit the dance floor yet?”

Tim glanced down at the hand and back up at Jason. “No...”

“Want to beat to beat them to the punch?”

Jason’s grin was downright roguish and Tim felt his own lips tugging up at the corners in return.

“Is this your way of trying to make them jealous?”

“Jealous of us stealing their spotlight?” Jason didn’t even pretend to think it over. “Yes. Nobody puts Timmy in a metaphysical corner.”

Feeling his mood lift for the first time in weeks, Tim threw his head back and laughed as he allowed himself to be led into the center of the party.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: @batreyn  
> Twitter: @writerReyn
> 
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